The opportunity to niche down as a virtual assistant in 2017 is better than ever. Many people start off as a generalist VA, offering to assist clients with a wide range of tasks at an hourly rate or even on retainer. But I have seen many instances where the marketability of a virtual assistant can be enhanced dramatically simply by having a good niche market strategy. Not only are you able to position yourself as an expert in your field, but you are also able to command a higher rate for that specialized expertise.

Here are a few guest experts on the Better Biz Academy Podcast who have made the decision to niche down and have done so successfully. Have a listen:

In today's video training series, I introduce a hot new niche that you might want to consider - providing podcasting help.

Transcript:

In 2017 and beyond, the opportunity to niche as a virtual assistant is better than ever. Many people start off as a generalist VA or somebody who does all kinds of tasks and then changes an hourly rate or packages them together to give that opportunity to the client every month to pay a set amount and receive a certain number or type of tasks.

It's time to niche down

But niching down as a virtual assistant is super powerful. If you're curious to learn more, check out some of my podcast episodes shared in the description below in which I've talked to virtual assistants who are specializing in everything – from Convert Kit to Google Analytics – to really increase their hourly rate and be viewed as an expert in their niche. This is really powerful because you can communicate from a place of confidence. And today, I want to talk to you about one of the hottest niches in 2017 and beyond to get involved in – helping with somebody's podcasts.

Podcasts as a Versatile Niche

Podcasts are very popular, and I get requests every single week for referrals for people who can help plan, edit, produce, and generate social media graphics around somebody's podcasts. A podcast is a great medium to share information with your listeners, which is the reason I have a podcast of my own. However, it's extremely time consuming. People can spend hours preparing just one episode from the point of recording all the way to completion. Someone might need help with all aspects of podcast production: finding guests, booking guests, making sure the guests have provided their materials like a headshot and a biography in advance, creating social media graphics, uploading the podcast to Libsyn or a similar program, posting it on a blog, and sharing it over social media.

Many steps of podcasting can be outsourced

You can see how many different steps are involved in the process, and that's to say nothing of writing the show notes or making this into a blog post and sharing it in other places as well. For that reason, more entrepreneurs who are starting podcasts, even if they have had a podcast for a while, are looking to outsource some elements of that process. If you can become familiar with some of the software involved and educate yourself to become a podcast expert, you can charge a great retainer or hourly package to focus specifically as the podcast VA.

Gain expertise in a coveted field

In fact, one thing I've noticed in the field is that there are not enough of these at the time of this recording. It's hard to find somebody who specializes in podcast related tasks, so if you're thinking about adding an additional menu of services to your virtual assistant business and you aren’t sure where to go, I strongly recommend podcasting. Niching down and positioning yourself as a specialist with podcasts can help you make more money and keep your brain focused on one particular type of task that you're doing every single day. It makes things easier for you and makes you into an expert for your clients. Ultimately, it works out well for everyone.

To learn more about the podcast process and how I've launched a podcast in 30 days or less, check the description below for my Udemy courses on how to become featured as a guest expert on podcasts and how to launch your own podcast. Educating yourself about what podcasts are, the audience they reach, and how they work can help you begin to offer this in your virtual assistant business.